This invention relates to semiconductor optoelectronic devices and more particularly to a semiconductor light emitting device and a method of emitting light.
Monolithic semiconductor light emitting devices, such as silicon (Si) devices comprising a pn junction, which in use is reverse biased into a breakdown mode to emit light, are known. Biasing the pn junction in avalanche or field emission breakdown, causes a current to increase, and due to energetic carriers in a high electric field of a depletion region associated with the junction, radiative recombination and transitions occur to generate photons in an indirect bandgap semiconductor material this radiative process is not the dominating carrier interaction taking place, which renders an electron-to-photon quantum efficiency, which may not be satisfactory.